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DETROIT (WWJ) – A Circuit Court judge in Genessee County ruled Tuesday that some Michigan welfare recipients protected from losing benefits under state law cannot be cut off.

WWJ’s Tim Skubick in Lansing tells us that the ruling Tuesday states that state Department of Human Services director Maura Corrigan “exceeded her authority” by ending benefits for most welfare recipients once they reached the five-year federal limit.

Michigan lawmakers in 2007 adopted a four-year limit that had several exceptions, then approved stricter enforcement last year.

The four-year limit doesn’t include months where a parent is needed at home to care for a disabled child — or other family member, but those months count under the federal limit.

The Department of Human Services has not commented.

Skubick tells us that he expects Gov. Snyder to appeal the issue to a higher court.